


based on assumptions

by hunnybby



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: F/M, Love Confessions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:14:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24184960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hunnybby/pseuds/hunnybby
Summary: its the push that tanaka and nishinoya give you to further pursue your feelings
Relationships: Ennoshita Chikara/Reader
Comments: 38
Kudos: 66





	1. the assumption

**Author's Note:**

> i actually have plans to expand on this. lemme know if anyone is interested!  
> edit: I AM EXPANDING

your afterschool time is usually spent waiting for tanaka and nishinoya to get out of volleyball practice. and each time they’re out, they both offer to walk you home, all the while lecturing you that you shouldn’t be waiting up for them when you could be comfortable at home.

“but you’re my friends,” you say. “i like walking home with you guys,” you whine. and each time, they sigh, give in, and walk you home.

and everytime they walk you home, they either fill you in on their practice (you still don’t know what’s going on, but you like competitiveness nonetheless) or they’re having some ridiculous conversation about something else (last time it was a debate on the best popsicle flavor). 

this time, it’s you they focus on. you’ve been waiting for them the past few months to be done with practice out of the blue. to them, you haven’t been exactly subtle. they liked your company, but-

“y/n,” tanaka says, making you stop in your tracks. you turn around, a quizzical look on your face.

“yeah? what’s up?”

there’s an exchange of looks given between tanaka and nishinoya, one you don’t miss that makes you side-eye them. whatever they were thinking, it wasn’t good for you. especially for you. 

they look at each other first, smirking to themselves before they look back at you, the smugness never disappearing from their features. “ennoshita’s kinda cool, huh y/n?” nishinoya suggests, eyebrows waggling.

you furrow your own brows in response, pouting your lips out in thought. “yeah, he’s great. smart. i don’t know much about him.” you decide to look down at your nail beds in disinterest. if you can play this off, you can get them off your back. if you can pretend you don't have an ulterior motive for waiting up for them, you're home free.

“he’s also pretty smart, right? you’re both in the same class,” tanaka tells you, his own face now mirroring nishinoya’s.

you feel yourself get hot. “what are you guys getting at?” you already know the answer. they’ve seen right through you.

you feel your heart racing, and your nonchalant resolve coming to a close.

they continue walking, so now you’re a few steps behind them. it’s nishinoya’s turn to talk, this time he’s looking over his shoulder, eyes darting between you and tanaka. “isn’t it kinda weird that, i don’t know, you started waiting for us to finish practice?”

“no,” you snap, a bit too quickly. your palms feel clammy. “i- i like walking home with you guys. that's what i said right? do you have honey in your ears?” 

“wouldn’t you rather,” tanaka starts, head also turned to take a good look at you, with your face absolutely reddened, “have ennoshita walk you home?” he finshes, dragging and emphasizing ennoshita’s name a little too much for your liking.

“that’s-“ your mind is trying to reach for a coherent sentence, “i don’t believe- are you insinutating that i- me, of all people- do you think-“ you groan, pushing your hair back to cool yourself off.

you’re flustered, and that’s enough for the boys to validate their thoughts.

“i knew it!” they say at the same time, finger gunning each other in victory. it makes you jump.

they both turn to you, bright-eyed and bushy tailed. it’s one accusation after another.

“i see the way you look at him!”

“tanaka noticed first, but when you started saying bye to everyone-“

“you literally say ‘bye everyone! oh, bye ennoshita see you in class tomorrow!’-“

“tanaka i don’t sound like that-“

tanaka grips your shoulder’s now, eyes on the verge of tears. nishinoya is peeking from behind him, already bouncing from excitement. from them being right, you aren’t too sure. what you are sure is thag you do not want to wait for them anymore.

“this is great,” tanaka says, more determined. “all we have to do is have you talk to him now.”

without another word, his grip loosens and he lets go of you completely. “wait! i prefer to leave things the way they ar-“

“and have us not watch a love story unfold before our very eyes? i don’t think so.”

“there’s no _story_ to unfold. we aren’t unfolding anything. let’s leave the laundry in the basket. where it belongs.” it’s a sorry attempt at a deadpan voice.

“we will not have that, y/n,” nishinoya agrees, ignoring you completely and continuing on the tread home.


	2. the mission: retrieve his number

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's time for you to make a move

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you're all having a great day :)

“ennoshita,” you say (read: squeak. voice cracking. everything), standing up for your desk at the end of class. you wince slightly at your own forwardness. maybe you should have walked over to him and whispered his name?

but that’s above you now.

he turns around looking slightly confused until he makes eye-contact with you and waves, fully turning around to walk back into the classroom and towards your desk. “hey, y/n. what do you need?”

“help,” you tell him simply. you suck in a breath and press your lips together, unsure of what to say next.

on the walk home the other day, the boys offered you his number. but you denied profusely, telling them that it would be weird if you texted ennoshita out of the blue. you wanted to get his number organically, naturally.

“i can ask for a boys number myself,” you told them, hands on your hips and nose in the air. 

“do it then,” nishinoya challenged, toothy grin and a glint in his eyes.

the problem was how you would ask. 

standing infront of him now, you realize that you didn’t plan this far ahead. and it shows too, because ennoshita has his head tilted to the side blinking expectantly. he still has a small smile formed on his lips. “help with?”

so many things, you think. your hands are clenching the sides of your desk nervously, and you silently thank his parents for making such a tall son. there’s no way he’s able to see how white your knuckles are getting.

you clear your throat, “help with...” your eyes wander around. 

volleyball? no, that’s too obvious. science? possibly, but all the memorization sounds disgusting. history? maybe. 

it’s been a beat too long, and your eyes fall back to him, and he still looks confused. but he’s still here, waiting patiently for you to say something.

you bite the corner of your bottom lip. and your eyes widen when you remember another subject. “literature!” you pipe up, voice a bit too loud for your liking. you settle down a bit. “literature.”

he gives you a light-hearted laugh, “oh. i can help you with that anytime.”

you watch him as he fishes for something in his pocket, and he pulls out his cellphone. the act itself makes your heart race and a blush threatens to cross your features. before you could reach for your own phone, he gives you his.

“here. you can put your number in and you can reach me whenever,” he suggests, all nice-boy like and all smiles.

your hands, albeit a little shaky, take his phone and you put your contact number in. then, you send yourself a text message to your own phone so that you could have his number saved to. you hear your bag vibrate.

“i texted myself,” you manage to speak, quickly handing him his phone. then you panic just a bit before adding, “i’m sorry- i should have asked if i could do that.”

he puts his hand up and shakes his head, “no problem, i was gonna text you right away anyway. wouldn’t make sense if you asked me for help and only i had your number, right?”

“right,” you breathe, nodding. were you in a daydream? you want to pinch yourself.

he’s waving farewell to you and turning his body towards the door. “i’ll catch you after practice, y/n.” and he’s gone before you even respond.

but once he’s gone, you have your butt back in your chair and your head in your hands. now you can be bashful with no worries. 

he notices that you wait for their practices to finish.


	3. the update

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> you finally have his number- you didn't need help from tanaka OR nishinoya!!!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here it is yall :)

you planned to say ‘thank you’ to ennoshita today for giving you his number after their practice was over, but one look at him and you were gone. not physically, but mentally your cool clocked out.

it's not uncommon to see him this way, looking his usual amount of tired and covered in sweat after practice. maybe it’s just you thinking about how tanaka and nishinoya found and aired out your dirty laundry, but alarms blared off in your head and you needed to turn around and face away from him. maybe going /in/ the gym is a bad idea for you, you realize- you can barely take seeing him after his cool-down period now.

this time, you didn’t even say your routine farewells, didn't even want to /think/ about looking anyone in the eye. as you drag tanaka and nishinoya away from campus by the straps of their bags and towards your direction home, you rack your brain for your conversation topic.

“i got his number today,” you mumble once you’re sure your far enough away from the rest of the team. you loosen your grip on your friends and walk in between them. “i said i needed help... with literature,” you confess, defeated and deflated.

there’s a bout of laughter that tanaka and nishinoya go through for a brief moment, before they’re wiping their eyes of tears and looking at you. 

“hey! don’t laugh so loud, what if someone from the team hears you?”

“you dragged us away so fast and so far, there’s no need to worry about that,” bald-head says between fits of giggles. he looks back to make sure no one is around anyway. then he says, “we really could have given you his number.”

nishinoya jumps up. “we should text him right now!”

“no!” is your response, clutching your bag tight. it comes out a bit louder and a bit more aggressive than you anticipated, so it surprises you, too. you clear your throat and relax, “no, i’ll... text him later. when i’m ready. he’s probably tired-“

“he’s _always_ tired,” tanaka points out, stretching his arms over his head and nodding to himself as if someone else said it so that he could agree. you didn’t have to look at nishinoya to know he was agreeing.

you sag your shoulders because it’s true. you don’t think you’ve ever seen him 100% awake. maybe that’s just how he looks normally. you wouldn’t know. it’s not like you stare at him any chance you get. (yes you do)

you perk back up. desperately wanting to change the subject that you started, you switch gears. “tanaka, how’s your sister?” you say as curiously as possible, and you genuinely are.

the switching is successful because he hums and responds with, “she’s ok i guess. just home. she-“ he stops mid-sentence, a smile that only an oddball with a bad thought process would have. “y/n, wanna come over saturday? we’re having a study group- nishinoya and i need to get our marks up.”

“sure,” you say easily. “i’m free that day. maybe i can even say hi to saeko while i’m there. i have a lot of studying to do anyway.”

“perfect,” he drones, sending nishinoya a knowing wink.


	4. how it happened

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the flashback

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're at the halfway mark!

crushes are silly.

no one knows how long they last, and no one really knows why they happen to spur at odd times. but sometimes, people can pinpoint when it started. it’s something you seem to remember well.

you meet ennoshita the first day of high school. you’re nervous in a new environment, excited to be surrounded by your friends, and even more so to be able to make new connections. so excited even, you forgot to pack your own lunch.

so when you’re outside in front of the vending machine bent over to grab your yogurt drink, you feel a presence and you hear a calm voice saying, “hey.”

and when you stand upright, drink in hand, you see him there, holding not one but two prepped lunches. the sight is odd, so when you sport your best confused look, he shows his best ‘nice to officially meet you’ smile.

“ennoshita,” he says simply as way of introduction, the thumb of his free hand jabbed to his chest.

you nod, and say your own name. “and i know who you are. we’re in the same class,” you tell him as politely as possible, small smile forming on your lips. “what's up? need my assistance? need help finding the bathrooms or something?” you don't mention that you got lost just moments ago.

he’s in no rush when he hands you one of the lunches he’s carrying, placing it in your free hand and gently pushing it towards you. “you can help me finish this,” he gesture to the neatly wrapped box, “i had an extra- i get hungry pretty fast, but i can deal with just one lunch today. i noticed you didn’t bring any.”

ennoshita gives you the same smile, but this time it makes something in you jump. and that something makes you shiver, and it makes you wanna run to the school nurse to get checked out. perhaps you were having a heart attack?

you grip the box in your hand and give a slight bow before meeting his eyes. “uh- thanks. thank you,” you say, voice clipped at the nerves. “for lunch. today. i’m starving-!” you wince when you realize your voice grow volume.

“i’ll be sure to-“

“don’t worry about it. just give this back to me clean any time and we can call it even, yeah?”

you nod again, at loss for words at the friendly exchange.

you don’t believe in love at first sight, but love at multiple sightings? possibly. because after that, your eyes wandered to where he was every chance you got. being in the same class helped, too.

initially you told yourself this would last a week- two weeks tops. the two of you rarely spoke, save for class interaction and a few questions here and there. but now, more than a year later, you’re here with the same crush on the same boy all because he gave you food.

you curse yourself everyday for being a hopeless romantic.


	5. the study group

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> you're at the study group at the tanaka household. but there are extra guests that you didn't expect to see.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here she is! the next part. this is one of the longer chapters, if not the longest! as always, thank you for your patience and support :)

you’re greeted by saeko at the door, her eyes lighting up when she sees you as she embraces you in an air-tight hug. you are quick to return it, having not seen her in what feels like a thousand years.

“haven’t seen you in hoooow long?” she asks, swinging you back and forth before finally letting you go to take a good look at you. she gives you a good once-over before saying “so pretty” like it’s fact.

you flush slightly. “just trying to look as cool as you, you know?”

saeko’s always been like a big sister to you, welcoming you whenever you come over, offering you cigarettes to be nice even though you don’t smoke, giving you a lollipop whenever you say no to her cigarettes. sometimes you find yourself getting lost in her, which is what you’re tryinng to avoid now since you’re here for a reason.

you make haste taking off your shoes, remembering that you actually have things to study for- nevermind that you’re not in the same class as tanaka or nishinoya. they’re probably in tanaka’s room right now, trying to figure out who can collect more eraser shavings by vigorously rubbing it on a blank sheet of paper.

“are they...?” you point to where his room is located, and saeko affirms. 

“almost the entire team is up there. go knock yourself out, use that brain of yours,” she waves, making her way back to whatever she was doing while you made your way to tanaka’s bedroom.

your head is looking at the floor to make sure you don’t accidentslly hit your foot against his door when you slide it open. “tanaka, it’s not fair that you have such a cool...,” you tilt your head up finally, sliding his door shut and your vision is greeted by the entire second-year volleyball players, “... sister?” she wasn’t kidding when she said almost the entire team were here, because they’re all waving and scooting around to make room for you.

including ennoshita. your eyes are like a moth to a light, so you are literally trying make sure you don’t stare for too long. maybe if you time your stares for each person it won’t look weird?

no. that’s dumb. you decide to give a slight wave back and set your eyes on tanaka, who is smirking at you. you see his eyes dart quickly to gesture towards ennoshita, who sits opposite of him, but you don’t move your gaze. instead, you stalk over squeeze yourself between tanaka and narita.

maybe you did so too aggressively, because now you feel 5 pairs of eyes on you as you dig through your bag for your literature notes.

-

it’s not as awkward as you thought it would be (though you would have liked the heads up from tanaka and nishinoya that the others would be here) and you find yourself enjoying the company.

besides the two aforementioned, you’ve never really seen ennoshita, kinoshita, or narita outside of school.

and they were funny.

during this time spent in your friends’ room you learned a few things:

1\. kinoshita has a smart mouth, and he almost always aims his comments at tanaka, who takes it like a champ.  
2\. narita is phased by nothing, absolutely nothing, and will brush off weird comments coming from anyone’s mouth like he didn’t hear it. (and odd banter goes on during the time you’re all ‘studying’)  
3\. nishinoya will attempt sleep anywhere. even under the table.  
4\. ennoshita is, to your surprise, very intense when it comes to whipping the boys (read: tanaka and nishinoya only) in shape to prepare for exams. because, as you have heard from conversation, they can’t play without passing grades.

in the past few hours, you have also become aware that:

1\. kinoshita and narita have left the building, literally, to go home.  
2\. nishinoya is now successfully sleeping under the table.  
3\. tanaka has excused himself from the room, claiming he had an _important_ phonecall. with whom? you can’t be entirely sure. but what you are sure of is-  
4\. you and ennoshita have now become the only ones studying. across from each other.  
it’s really hard to keep your eyes on your book. it really is.

but whenever you dare to sneak a glance at him, he’s hard at work. this doesn’t surprise you much. you’ve heard that he’s never had a failing mark. ever. in the history of him being alive. at all.

you think it’s impressive. so much so that you’re smiling when your eyes fall back down to your own work.

you hear a page turn. “what’s so funny?”

you look up, this time with your head instead of with your eyes. “hmm?” you press your lips together, holding back your smile from growing. holding back your beating heart from falling out of your mouth too, probably.

he turns another page and circles something. “you’re smiling,” he underlines something twice. “did you think of a joke?”

“no,” you say. “you’re pretty hard on tanaka and nishinoya,” you offer up, light-hearted. you hope he senses your going for playful banter.

the smile he returns tells you he reads you perfectly clear. “they told me to help them, so i am.” he sets down his own work to make eye contact with you, and you look back down at- what were you reading again? you couldn’t remember.

“did _you_ need help?” he prods, scooting closer to the table, closer to you. any closer and you wouldn’t be able to hide the pink on your cheeks.

you stutter. because no, you didn’t need help. but yes, you were now lost. “uh- i,” you inhale, then exhale a tony laugh, “i lost my place while reading.”

“do you mind if i take a look?” he’s already reaching for your book. no, wait. he’s reaching for your wrist.

before he does though, your fight or flight response kicks in and you move your hand away at lightning speed. unfortunately for you, this knocks down your book bag and pencil case, both wide open, and all contents inside spill across the table and floor.

this doesn’t seem to wake nishinoya up.

“oh my god, i’m so sorry,” you whisper. you fail at hiding your blush, you know this. because you instantaneously feel yourself getting warmer and warmer by the second.

he’s already picking up your scattered pens and pencils for you. “no worries, i shouldn’t have tried to grab your book like that,” he tells you, voice still even and sweet.

you spare a glance at him and see he’s still smiling, and still you feel your heart leaping up to your throat. “it’s ok,” you say quickly. “i’m just uh,” you start to pick up two notebooks and place them in your bag, “i think i’m done for today.” you pick up one more notebook and place it on top of the other two.

you’re silently cursing yourself and your nerves for getting the better of you.

“ah, okay,” he responds. you think you hear disappoint in his tone, but you shake it off.

there’s two more pencils on the table, and you both aim for them. but your quick to grab them. you feel his hand brush against your own, and you make a small choking sound that you hope he misses.

when you toss the remaining pencils in the case, he takes it and zips it up for you. “the least i can do,” he says as he hands it to you.

there’s that brush again, but this time neither of you are pulling away. hands still connected by your pencil case. it’s awkward, you think. awkward, but you’ve never been near him this long; you don’t want the moment to disappear.

you think he’s about to open his mouth to say something, but the slamming of tanaka’s sliding door opening makes you both jump. you clench the case while ennoshita let’s go.

then, you’re on your feet, rushing to stuff your belongings in your bag and slinging it over your shoulder. “i have to go,” you say to no one in particular, and push past tanaka on your way out, your footsteps echoing loudly across the house, followed by the shutting of the front door.

finally, nishinoya wakes up. “what’d i miss?”

there’s a small, nervous chuckle coming from ennoshita, and he rubs the back of his neck. “nothing.”


	6. the other side (his pov)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ennoshita gets some help from tanaka

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you're all doing well!

there’s a feeling blooming in ennoshita’s chest when he feels the smoothness of your fingers. there’s another feeling in his throat when he sees you leave, no flee, tanaka’s room. additionally, there’s also a feeling of disappointment that he feels in his gut when he hears tanaka’s front door close.

not too long after, he’s about ready to pack his stuff up for the night and head home. he doesn’t realize how late it is until he yawns for the third time. “i better get going in a bit.”

he’s collecting his things, the shuffling of his items drowning out other noises. he really just wants to be in bed. he really wants to fall asleep while scrolling through his phone. he really wants-

his inner planning is cut off when he hears tanaka snickering, and he narrows his eyes in suspicion. the baldy laughing is never good for his soul. “what’s so funny?”

“nothing,” he says, attempting to hold back the continued snicker. “just wondering why you freaked y/n out so much that she had to leave.”

ennoshita knows he’s teasing. he also knows it’s lighthearted banter. but what he doesn’t know is why you left in such a hurry. was it him?

“hey,” he turns to tanaka, “i’m... approachable right? i’m nice?” he wants to the last question to sound like a statement, but he’s not entirely sure himself.

“i’m not gonna lie, ennoshita,” tanaka scratches at the side of his face, “sometimes you scare me more than daichi.”

he sighs, dejected. “i only scare you because you never seem to do your work,” he says simply, closing his bag and leaning back on his hands. it wouldn’t hurt to converse a bit more. “i guess what i’m trying to ask is- do i make people uncomfortable?”

this time, tanaka sits across from ennoshita, the same spot you were in not too long ago. “you’re a very respectable man,” he wags his finger back and forth, “and you probably don’t make people uncomfortable.”

probably? he wasn’t going to get anywhere with tanaka.

“do i make y/n uncomfortable?”

tanaka perks up at the sound of your name. “and what makes you say that, hmm?” he presses, his chin resting on the palm of his hand as he leans forward, suggestive smile touching his features.

if there was some sort of insinuation, ennoshita wasn’t getting it. “i mean,” he shifts his position on the floor, opting to put a knee up for a more comfortable sit, “i think she ran out earlier because of me. do i give off some sort of vibe? is this what people call a vibe check?”

ennoshita has always been a worry wart. he was always overthinking things, always doubting himself. did he think he was a good person? of course. did he think people liked him? he didn’t particularly care, but it irked him to think that maybe you... didn’t want to be around him?

you were always saying ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’ to him. you have his number, he has yours, and yet you hadn’t texted him. had he read the situation wrong?

tanaka sighs heavily, bringing him out of his thoughts. “i don’t know. why don’t you ask her? you have her number,” he states, pointing to his phone laying face-down on the table.

he eyes his phone, lips pouting in thought. he _could_ text you. nothing was stopping him. his second guessing gets the better of him; he wouldn’t know what to say. “i can’t just ask someone for a vibe check.”

before he could stop his friend, tanaka snatches his phone and stands, lips twisted in a sick grin. he’s mumbling words he can barely hear, but he does hear this: “i’ll text her then.”

ennoshita’s eyes widen as he gets up and attempts to snatch the phone from tanaka, but his friends years of amazing reflexes trumps his when tanaka turns around and ducks slightly. he wants to scream when he hears the sound of a text being sent.

a text from tanaka is bad. a text from tanaka to a girl? even worse. he’s seen the way he tries to flirt with shimizu.

“please tell me you didn’t say anything stupid,” he pleads, eyes closed and body slack.

tanaka tosses him his phone. “i’d never do anything to embarass you, my friend.” ennoshita eyes him wearily.

**you  
[20:50] **  
did you get home safely?

he sighs. knowing tanaka, he thought maybe he’d send a flurry of emoji’s with some out-of-character sentence. but this was a pleasant surprise.

when he looks back up, he sees tanaka still standing, arms crossed proudly in front of him with his nose in the air. “you’re welcome.”

“didn’t know you could talk to girls so normally,” he mutters, reverting back to the sarcastic ennoshita tanaka knew and love.

“i’ll have you know y/n and i talk on a regular basis,” he points out. then his own phone vibrates from his pocket. “that’s probably her right now, telling me how great of a friend i am for texting her.”

“you texted her from my phone 2 seconds ago,” ennoshita replies flatly, reminding him that he did not text you. then his phone dings in his hand. “she responded.” it’s a quick tone change, and it makes tanaka perk up. then it dings again.

**y/n  
[20:52]**   
hey! yeah i did thanks sorry for running out earlier lol

he sighs again, but this time in relief. “we’re good tanaka,” he slumps, allowing his posture to loosen. he lets a small smile form on his lips, “i think i passed the vibe check.”

tanaka, who was also looking at his own phone, gives him a thumbs up with his free hand. “you’ll always pass the vibe check if you let me text for ya!”

the notification goes off again.

**y/n  
[20:55] **  
have a good night!

there’s the feeling of something pushing his way out of his chest again. it makes him bite back a smile.


	7. the mix-up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> you text tanaka and ennoshita at the same time!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> second to last chapter everyone!! thank you for being by my side!

you’re chillin. hair washed and tied back, pajamas on cozy, and face on nude.

you have the remainders of scratch paper scattered on your desk, while your real work is packed neatly in your bag. when you got home, you finished what you needed to without distraction. that was easy.

there’s a vibration that comes from your phone. when you pick it up, your heart rate accelerates.

**you  
[20:50]**  
tanaka what do i do he texted me i think i freaked him out

moments ago you _were_ chillin, butt on your chair and feet kicked up on your desk. not even worrying about what happened at your friends house. you decided on the way back home that you would force yourself to not let it consume the rest of your night.

but then, ennoshita texts you. so now, you’re texting tanaka. why? you don’t know- you don’t think he’s particularly good at giving advice. but he’s pretty close to the boy who’s been living in your mind rent-free. he has some insights.

**tanaka  
[20:52]**  
dont be urself. ur weird. be cool  
im jk just tell him ur home safe lol

you snort, not expecting a g-rated response to come from the baldy.

at times like these, you wish you had a way with words. or maybe some jokes in your arsenal. but you’ve never been good at breaking the ice, so you decide to text back in the most general, normal way possible.

but even then, you feel the heat rise to your cheeks and the clamminess of your hands. if this is enough to fluster you, you don’t know how you managed to be in the same vicinity as him for hours today.

you give yourself another moment to collect your lost cool, and send ennoshita one last text before sitting yourself cross-legged on your bed.

the phone is set directly across from you, and you wonder if you should text him one more time. would that be okay? you wonder if you’ll ever get to that level with ennoshita, if you’ll be able to double, triple, quadruple text him in a row without worrying if you were being annoying.

**you  
[20:55]**  
tanaka  
hey  
am i in love?? is this what love feels like????

you toss your phone down again. tanaka is a very slow texter, you know this much. you also know that he may not even text you back if he still has company over. so, you crawl under your sheets and scroll through your phone while you wait for sleep to take over.

and in the middle of you reading a meme, your phone vibrates once, then twice after a few seconds. you swipe down at your screen and see that they’re from two different people.

**tanaka  
[22:14]**  
suuuuuuure

**ennoshita  
[22:14]**  
goodnight, see you in class tomorrow

you close both notifications to continue scrolling aimlessly through your various social media. besides, there was nothing you needed to say right now. “i can text them back later,” you mumble, only half-promising yourself to do so. tanaka you definitely would respond.

but ennoshita? you’ve embarrassed yourself enough already.

you feel your eyelids weighing down as you slowly succumb to your slumber. but a small alarm goes off in your head- you have to remind tanaka to not leave you after his practice. shaking your head, you keep one eye open as you open up your texts

**you  
[23:21]**  
hey  
dont leave me after practice!!!!!

when you hear the signal that your message has been sent, you close your eye and put your phone down. you’ll tell tanaka the deets of the day later.


	8. the first walk home (final)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the texts you sent last night leads to ennoshita walking home with you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it’s the last one! get ready to feel second-hand embarrassment.

you turn a corner, lightly huffing from power-walking. it wasn’t too late after the boys’ practice, but you lost track of time. hopefully they didn’t leave you in the dust. you’d hate to be walking home alone (additionally, you’d hate to miss out on whatever topic of choice nishinoya and tanaka usually spewed).

but when you reach the building, you don’t see tanaka or nishinoya or anyone for that matter. but you do see-

“enno...shita?” you tilt your head to side in confusion. “what’s, uh, what’s up?” you manage to stutter out, one hand moving to grip the elbow on the opposite arm.

he’s waving his phone at you. “you texted me,” he states. “last night,” he continues. he furrows his brows. “remember?”

the quick change in his body language makes you feel a bit guilty. you don’t remember texting him- you texted tanaka. didn't you?

you fish your phone out of your pocket. “can i just- please hold,” you tell him before turning around and checking your messages. to your surprise, you _had_ texted him instead. the blood drains from your face.

you shoot tanaka texts at rapid fire. as if it were going to make him reply any faster.

**you  
[20:25]**  
tanaka i messed up send the paramedics  
i texted ennoshita to wait for me  
i meant to text u  
respond ASAP!!!!!!

from behind you, you hear ennoshita shift. “wanna get going soon? wouldn’t want you home too late.”

you click your phone screen off and stuff it in your jacket pocket. “sorry about that,” you reply, twirling around to face him, “just checking in on something.” your phone buzzes in your pocket- tanaka probably- and you ignore it.

the two of you don’t move for a second, deciding to stare anywhere else but at each other. it’s uncomfortable, but only because this feels out of place. you take a deep breath, “hey-“

“i-,” he says at the same time. this makes you both clamp your mouth shut.

you urge him to go on with a nod. “i thought maybe you meant to send the text to tanaka,” he explains, an embarrassed chuckle following suit, “i didn’t respond because- well,” he’s stuttering, “i don’t know.”

“oh,” you say simply, eyebrows raised to convey your pleasant surprise. “yeah,” you admit slowly, “it was meant for tanaka, but-!”

you think you see a glimmer in his eye when he finally makes eye contact with you, and you choke. “i don’t mind being with you- like walking with you. home. i don’t mind walking home with you. to my house,” you ramble. “like, you know,” you wave your hands in a general gesture, “like you walking with me, next to me, home. ok, i mean-“

he laughs again, this time more light-hearted, and you feel your heart flutter. “i get it. let’s get going then?” his head nods to the side first, before making his way towards the school gates.

there’s a shift in your mood, and you smile as you catch up to him to walk by his side.

-

the shift doesn’t last long _at all_. you’re an absolute mess.

you avoid eye-contact as much as you can, for fear of him seeing the color rise from your neck to your cheek.

_you feeling ok?_

whenever you try to start a conversation, engage in small talk, you cough because you chicken out last minute.

_do you need any cough drops?_

even though most of your focus is on the ground, you’re tripping up over your own two feet, making him grab your elbow to steady you back up.

_you need me to hold your hand and guide you?_

that last one was a joke, followed by friendly laughter. it nearly makes you choke again. but you shake your head so fast it just about gives you whiplash.

after many failed attempts at keeping your cool, you find yourself halfway to your destination. relief washes over you when you realize this is almost over, but so does disappointment at not spending this optimal time to get to know him better.

walking home with someone other than the two knuckleheads is different. even though your heart hasn’t stopped racing, you find this scenario peaceful. maybe something out of those shoujo manga you read often. you find-

“y/n,” you snap out of your thoughts, “do you often send texts to the wrong people?” he teases, and you turn your head to see a kid-like smirk on his face.

“what- oh.” it’s banter. you chuckle nervously. “sometimes,” you play with the ends of your jacket-sleeves, “i’m usually more careful. but the text got me you, right?” you slip out.

immediately, you feel yourself burn. again. you silently curse yourself.

he takes it well, though. and by the looks of it, you see that he knows what you mean. you only hope he doesn’t try to find any hidden meaning behind your words.

he’s nodding. “yes, it did.”

you reach your house too soon. you almost frown. almost. you purse your lips tight before you get the chance to.

“this is me,” you say, fishing your keys from your bag. “thanks for escorting me to my humble abode.”

“pleasure was all mine, my lady,” he plays along, bringing a hand to his head to pretend-tip a nonexistent hat and giving you a slight bow.

there’s another long, awkward, pregnant pause. neither of you make a move. you jingle your keys to fill the silence. “well,” you drag, swaying yourself, “i’ll... see you tomorrow? in class?”

“yeah,” he clears his throat, “see you in class.”

“o-kay. bye,” you turn fully, only taking a few steps before you feel a light tug on your wrist. it makes you turn back around to an embarrassed-faced ennoshita.

“yes?”

“if you wouldn’t mind,” he tells you with his eyes down-casted to the floor while he clears his throat quickly, “could i walk you home again some time?”

“yes,” you say almost immediately. if you had any shame, it's left you completely. you curse yourself for the hundredth time that day. "that would be great."

he looks up at you with a sleepy smile, one you see him wear often. he lets go of your wrist. “great,” he takes a step back from you, “i’ll be seeing you then.” and he takes off with a small wave in the same direction you came.

when you finally walk in your house and close your door, you let out the worlds most exaggerated sigh. one hand to your chest, while your other hand digs for your phone.

**tanaka  
** [20:26]  
LOL nice one. u kids have fun on ur way home

it takes you 5 walks home to finally confess. turns out he already knew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you guys for going on this journey with me! this was my first (and probably my... last?) time doing a multi-chapter fic like this. it makes me incredibly happy that i have made friends through this fic alone. and for that, it will always have a special place in my heart- no matter how embarrassing it feels to read it through. i love you all, and thank you for your support and your friendships!


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